Hiro - Japanese, Petaluma

107 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, CA 94952
(707) 763-2300
Parking: street parking
http://www.hirosrestaurant.com/

Last Visited: November 16, 2003

Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

As you walk into Hiro’s, you notice the sushi bar on your left and the many sushi chefs and assistants. It’s a place that has a trendy flare – clean lines with the wood, light earth tones, and black chairs. There is uniform artwork hung off the right side of the wall near the ceiling – rather inexplicable why a person would create so many of the same unusual piece. It looks like an egg stuck in some bird claw with random color splashings - rather without purpose. The artwork behind the sushi bar and above the bathroom hallway entrance is dark brown with cream or white lines in it. It doesn’t seem to be in any organized pattern, but look up when you look at the piece above the sushi bar. I don’t know what was up with the shape of the piece above the hallway mentioned earlier. I think it points to the bathroom based on the taper, but who knows what it is. The faux brick wall on the wall to the left creates an interesting texture in the room. The background music is jazzy, contemporary, and trendy. The fluorescent lighting has a problem. It flickers, and throughout your meal, we found ourselves rather annoyed by the flickering.

There were too many menus - specials, an extensive sake menu, sushi and dinner menu, cocktail menu - colored paper everywhere – chaos.

Most of the dishes we had were very good. The presentation is exciting – as dishes come by your table, you will find them inviting your attention. The dishware itself is pretty interesting if you’re into that sort of thing.

- Calamari Tempura – Slightly overbattered, but lightly flavored, a large serving of calamari rings (a good sized appetizer for four people) is presented with a slightly spicy dipping sauce over a bed of lettuce. There were some tentacles served with this dish, but I found the batter to be on the heavier side, but still a good appetizer. $8.50

- Miso Soup – Pretty standard, hot miso soup. $2

- Ebi $3.5, Hamaichi $4, Sake $4, Inari $4, Tai $4.50, Unagi 4.50 – All of this is pretty standard – nothing out of the norm, but nothing bad either. Everything was neatly presented.

- Spider roll - I've seen better presentation of this roll elsewhere with more crab showing. The flavor of the spider roll wasn’t spectacular either. $12

- Salmon Skin roll - two cones – I expected it to be crunchier than it was. Nicely presented with good flavor. $8

- Spicy Tuna Roll - okay, but not wow. $7.50

- Japanese Tea – The tea is roasted and has good flavor. $1 per person

There were several faux pas committed this evening. Our waitress was showing her midriff which wouldn’t have been a problem, but she had difficulty opening the bottle of sake and well, it just didn’t look professional although a male patron at the next table seemed to enjoy the show. She also was a bit snobby seeing how we were not dressed in trendy attire, although she showed approval after taking our order. Once dinner started, the dishes were not changed after the calamari was served. This seemed necessary as the dipping sauce and oil from the calamari would invade the flavor of sushi put on the dish. Although dishes were cleared quickly, as the last piece of sushi was put onto one of our plates, a server took away the serving plate. This is a sushi no-no as wasabi and ginger may still be needed with that last piece of sushi. Tea cups are filled regularly, but our impression of service became further tainted at the end of the meal. We had to ask for additional tea and the pot was running low, so we didn’t get much of it. Tea is an essential on a cool evening after sushi to warm the stomach.

Overall, service was fair, leaving something to be desired. Prices are on the higher side. The most unique thing about the restaurant is the bathroom sink. As you walk into the restroom, there is a wood table with a small basin resting on it. The sink just gives that old fashioned basin style of washing and it has a unique look to it. The faucet is actually coming from the wall, so the effect is further enhanced.